The Ghillie Suit - A Snipers Best Friend

You've probably seen a ghillie suit a million times in movies and on television but just never knew that they had an actual name. Ghillie suits are the camoflage you've no doubt seen snipers wearing in tv movies or even on the news? It basically looks like a man buried underneath a bush and used properly can make a sniper or infantryman almost undetectable. The word ghillie comes from an old Scottish word that means "boy" or "gamekeeper"; whose job it was to take care of a Lords lands and to control hunting there. The suit was originally used as a type of portable camoflage for the ghillies to conceal themselves whilst on the move.

The versatility of the ghillie suit quickly became apparent to armed forces all over the world and they are now a standard item of clothing for any sniper or sniper team. The method of construction for a ghillie suit varies from one armed force to the next but each ghillie suit will have a base made from either a standard BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) or a similar item which the suit is then built upon. Normally the base suit will have loops through which strips of dyed burlap are attached with a combination of dental floss and either hot glue or something called Shoe Goo. The suit itself is build up literally one strange at a time with effort taken to vary the colors used in each section for the overall best effect.

Once the suit is finally "built" it then needs to be turned into a proper ghillie suit. It needs to look worn and to easily fit in with vegetation and other natural coverings. To make the ghillie suit appear more natural they're often buried in mud to "cure" for several days and then randomly beaten, dragged and otherwise abused to make them age faster. Although ghillie suits can be bought pre-made most self-respecting ghillie users create their own custom suits for their own set of combat requirements.

Wearing a ghillie suit will mean one thing for certain - getting hot. While a modern ghillie suit can be quite comfortable to lay still in for several hours the temperature problem never goes away. You can expect the internal temperature of the suit to climb to as high as 50 degrees celcsius (120 degrees farenheit). Bear this in mind before you throw one on and run out to play tactical airsoft. You can read more about other airsoft clothing items here.